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The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
A cruel joke or a blessing in disguise?
A year after losing a pair of Moore League deciding games to rival Millikan at Lisa Fernandez Field, Lakewood has been forced to practice at Mayfair Park all season while construction on campus limits the softball field usage.
Will the memory haunt the Lancers, or can they use the time there to take ownership of the place where the league championship has been decided a lot over the last few years? Lakewood coach Andy Miramontes hopes it’s the latter.
“We get a little extra edge by practicing there this year,” said Miramontes. “It comes down to the little stuff. For us to win this year we have to execute the little stuff and not make mistakes.”
Lakewood has a roster full of players ready to take key roles for the first time so a lot of the coaching has been mental.
“I’ve got a handful of new girls, but they’re athletes, and they’ve got to buy in on their own expectations,” Miramontes said. “If they believe they can do something they can do it. They can decide how good we’re going to be. We’re scrappy, we just have to put things together.”
The new Lancers can look to Lakewood senior captain Cat Calzada, who agrees with her coach when it comes to the unforced errors that held her team back last year.
“Honestly, last year we were pretty disappointed,” said Calzada. “We expected more out of ourselves. We have to make fewer errors. They were really why we didn’t win. Miramontes has definitely extended our practices to focus on our strengths and weaknesses.”
In the ultimate team-first move, Calzada is moving out from behind the plate where she was an All-Moore League catcher last year and learning a new position at shortstop. That’s allowed Miramontes to get more big bats in the lineup.
“I’ll play wherever I need to,” said Calzada. “There’s definitely a huge difference. Behind the plate I think I can have more control on the speed of the game. But at shortstop I have control over the infield. It’s definitely a different mindset. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but I also understand my role as a shortstop and that leading the infield is going to lead to bigger change.”
Miramontes has seen that sacrifice send a message to the rest of his team, and he hopes they can all gel at a tournament in Arizona later this month.
“She works hard and the girls respect that,” said Miramontes. “She’s doing a lot on and off the field, she’s got the highest GPA on the team and she also does the extra stuff like catching clinics or extra fielding and conditioning.”
Along with Calzada, fellow senior pitcher Star Tapia has also emerged as a leader and will be the ace this season. Miramontes said he’s increased her velocity and is building stamina for a heavy innings load of the next few months.
Sophomore Katelynn Lewis has a big bat in the heart of the Lakewood order and she’ll be taking over the catching duties for Calzada. Lewis was the only Lancer underclassman to be named first team All-Moore League.
First baseman Maddy Wynia is also an upperclassman leader back in the starting lineup and is hungry for a breakout year. Like Calzada, fellow returning starter Isabella Rueda will be a utility player at mostly second base and in the outfield. Freshman Isabelle Polanco will also play second base.
Sophomore Jamie Ramirez is coming up from the lower levels to play third base, as is senior center fielder Kenzi Brisbin who Miramontes is playing there because of her natural speed. Junior Elia Garcia will also play in the outfield.
“We always have a competitive team, we work with what we have, and that’s going to give us our edge this year,” said Calzada. “It’s all going to be about our determination. A lot of girls are willing to stay even after our long practices. We want to win. Losing isn’t fun and we want to have fun.”
“The top four teams are very close,” said Miramontes about the Moore League. “Poly has some strong athletes, Millikan has pitching and we have a little bit of everything so I don’t see anyone just dominating. This year anybody can win it.”
Lakewood is in CIF Southern Section Division 3 this season alongside Long Beach Poly. The Lancers haven’t won a league title since 2019.
Lakewood Starting Lineup
P- Star Tapia, Jr.
C- Katelynn Lewis, So.
1B- Maddy Wynia, Sr.
2B- Isabelle Polanco, Fr.
3B- Jamie Ramirez, So.
SS- Cat Calzada, Sr.
OF- Izzy Rueda, Jr.
OF- Kenzi Brisbin, Sr.
OF- Elia Garcia, Jr.
